Podcast interview with Cornell Thomas on the power of positivity
Cornell Thomas describes himself as a father, husband, son, speaker, coach, motivator, world changer, free thinker, lion, doer, giver, and active dreamer. His mission in life is to serve others and make this world a better place. He’s doing a heck of a job so far.
Originally, Cornell thought his purpose in life was to play professional basketball. And in 2003, he received a contract to play pro ball in Portugal. It was the realization of a dream he’d held since he discovered the sport at 16 years of age.
And then it all fell apart.
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Two weeks before he was supposed to leave for Portugal, Cornell suffered a career-ending injury. Little did he realize at the time that the injury would help him find & embrace his true purpose in life: helping and motivating others.
Cornell continued to give to the game he loved so much, coaching basketball and empowering young people along the way. AS he was doing that, he became fed up with all of the negativity he was seeing online, and so he decided to start writing his own motivational quotes for his personal Facebook page. The quotes eventually led to writing a blog, and the blog led to his first book “The Power Of Positivity – Controlling Where The Ball Bounces.” He has since written and released a second book called, “The Power of Me: Army of One.”
Sometimes you’ve got to go through pain to find your purpose.
– Cornell Thomas
From there, Cornell’s efforts to pursue his purpose just continued to gain momentum. He has taken the opportunity to speak all over the United States and in other parts of the world, sharing his story on the power of positivity with people from all walks of life. He dares others to say “What Now” instead of “Why Me” in the face of adversity.
Some of the key things I took from my time with Cornell include:
- You Can Always Sell the Cookies – In one of my favourite stories of any of this podcast’s episodes so far, Cornell tells a terrific tale of mindset , resourcefulness & hustle. Listen for what he did with the foul-tasting Weight Watchers cookies and you’ll see that there is always a way to take that next step and to create your next opportunity.
- If You Build It, They Don’t Always Come – You have to do the work. You better know your stuff. It’s not enough to just hang your sign and expect the world to come to you. You’ve got to go and get it. Cornell was reminded of that in the days when he started his first basketball camp and the results brought to mind a famous quote from a certain Kevin Costner movie … only in reverse.
- You’ll Never Arrive – I love this. With “No Schedule Man,” the whole idea is that the journey is the destination. The No Schedule Man will never arrive. And neither will you. And that’s a good thing. There is an irony here, because the acceptance of this fact is your gateway to freedom. Wherever you go, there you are. You’ll never arrive. Embrace it.
I’ll never arrive. I say it all the time. Once you arrive, your work ethic departs. You’ll never arrive. You’re always working toward being a better version of you.
– Cornell Thomas
Here is the conversation with Cornell Thomas on The No Schedule Man Podcast:
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The founder of No Schedule Man Brand Media, Kevin Bulmer is a Strategic Marketing and Mindset Coach and Keynote Speaker. He is the producer and host of the momondays London inspirational event series, strategic marketing coach for Awesomepreneurs and is also host of the podcast, “Journeys with the No Schedule Man.”
Day-to-day, Kevin helps heart-centered entrepreneurs find their “REAL” success so they can feel free to live and work happy. His overarching purpose is to uplift through a shared example of continual growth.
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very good message and very well presented.. This will help me a great deal.
good info. I book marked it and will be back.
Thank you, Todd. Would love to see you back here any time.
Best wishes
Kevin
Great website. Love the real life story and other information. It is good to stay positive but hard too. Sometimes it takes a bad life experience to get you to go out of your comfort zone and try something new.
Hi Tammy,
Thanks for your comments. It takes some effort at first to get into a positive mindset, for sure. But once you do it, life is a heckuva lot easier than following the cynical, miserable crowd all the time. It comes down to choice. But to your point, I didn’t really discover it until my life as I knew it fell to pieces. Hopefully we can spare others that unnecessary experience.
Best wishes
Kevin
About my disappointment..I wanted to be an Airline pilot since I was a kid, but the flight school cost way too much money to complete the entire package, a training package that would offer me a “ticket” able to apply to airline companies in the near future.
So instead I joined the Navy. By joining the navy I made ever lasting friends and i manage to discover the world, and also learn about my limits. Eventually it did not take too long for me to realize how important life is, and that we have only “one shot” in this world and we have to take advantage of it.
So after the Navy, I decided to create a business so eventually I can create passive income and live my life in my own terms. Making a long story short, I actually manage to get My Commercial Pilot Licence just for the record, and also I live a Life to the fullest nowadays!
So actually because of my disappointment in my early days not being able to join the commercial flight school, I end up living my dreams instead of dreaming my life..So times we have to take different paths to achieve success in life.
What a great story, Alex! And congratulations on your success and perseverance! I really appreciate you sharing that here.
Best wishes,
Kevin
Hi Kevin, I love this post, made me absolutely grin and smile.
You Can Always Sell the Cookies – haha, well, I love the story behind this, I tried to sell Herbalife some years back, and hated it almost as much as the people hated it after taking it, and wanted their money back…dropped it…still get people who ask me to join because its all changed now, apparently…eurgh…no thanks…
If You Build It, They Don’t Always Come – I love this, its amazing how many people open up shop and then are baffled why no one is bursting through the door, and your mum and sister dont count…I made this mistake a couple of times and learned my lesson…
You’ll Never Arrive – Absolutely fundamental to my new mindset, so thank you.
Best wishes
Neil
Hey Neil! Lol re: the cookies. I think we all have a story like that, don’t we? For me, sadly, it was a brief period where I tried to sell accident and sickness insurance. What a miserable job. Cornell had much more success with his cookies! I’m happy to report that things have improved greatly since then.
Thanks for visiting and leaving your thoughts. Much appreciated!
All the best,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
While reading this post I have felt sad that Cornell couldn’t realize his dream in Portugal. I was glad to read though that his injury led him onto a new path.
There is just so much negativity in this world, like people saying you can’t do this or you can’t do that.
I try to distance myself away from this negativity, especially online. So I am glad that Cornell has used this resource in a positive way.
I’ll have to check out his Facebook page as well as his book.
Thanks again Kevin.
Hi Owain,
Thanks for that. No need to feel sad for Cornell. He’s happy and is one of the most positive people I know! But I fully understand the feeling: that would have been devastating, when he had his injury. I suppose it’s all what you do with the challenge.
Thanks for your comments!
Best wishes,
Kevin
I can relate to Cornell Thomas’ experience. A few years ago, my husband was retrenched from this job. Before that I was a stay home mom looking after our kids. Because of his retrenchment, I was motivated to do something to help supplement our income. That’s when I started affiliate marketing. One year on, the results are quite encouraging although I still have a lot to do and a long way to go. I would never have discovered blogging and getting out of my comfort zone if not for my hubby’s retrenchment. I would say it was a blessing in disguise.
Good for you, Yvonne. I’ve been to your site many times and you’re doing a terrific job! The recipes you’re offering are fantastic! It’s interesting for me to read more of the story of how that came to be. I wish you and your husband all the very best of health and success.
Best wishes,
Kevin
Great work Kevin! Just love it – and the positive energy around what you are doing.
Best wishes,
Eril
Thanks Eril!
Be well,
KB
Great podcast Kevin. Love your message. I can imagine how hard it is to receive a career-ending injury right before you’re moving to achieve your dream. I’m so glad that Cornell was able to look at it in the positive way and used it to inspire and touch many lives. It is so amazing how strong our mind can be. We can always decide which path we want to choose positively or negatively. Thanks for sharing this inspiring story.
Thanks for that, Kien! I appreciate you dropping by.
Best wishes,
Kevin